


100 Ways

by rubyslippers112



Category: Pitch (TV 2016)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2018-09-23 00:54:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 14,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9632471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rubyslippers112/pseuds/rubyslippers112
Summary: Based off the list 100 Ways to Say I Love You. A collection of one-shots that are snippets of Mike and Ginny's relationship throughout the years.





	1. Pull over. Let me drive for a while.

Thankfully she sees the sign out of the corner of her eye in time to focus on it as the car speeds by. At the rate he’s going, the three-hour drive will only take two. Or more likely, he’ll get pulled over since he’s easily going forty over the speed limit. The sign indicated a twenty-four-hour open Starbucks three miles ahead, and maybe a ten minute stop will do him good. Regardless, some coffee would help keep them both awake this late at night.

 

She takes a moment to look at him, barely illuminated by the dimmed GPS on the dashboard. While she can’t make out his face in the faint light, she does notice how tense his posture is. She brings her left hand to rest on his right thigh, her thumb stroking back and forth, hoping to send some reassurance that everything would be okay with that small movement.

 

“Hey, pull off on this exit okay? There’s a Starbucks and I think we could use some caffeine.” Her quiet request pierces the heavy silence in the car.

 

He simply nods at her suggestion and takes the exit, following the directions to Starbucks. Not surprisingly, the drive-through is empty and he quickly orders their usual coffees before pulling up to the window.

 

If it weren’t for the bright lights of the parking lot, she wouldn’t have noticed the slight tremor of his hand when he removed it from the steering wheel to grab his wallet. She looks to his face and sees the sheer exhaustion and worry that the darkness of the night had hidden from her.

 

She’s heartbroken when she realizes that he is scared, that no matter how strained the relationship is, he cares for his mother. He’s her only family so he was the one the nurses called when she was brought in to the hospital unconscious from a suspected heart attack. And while she was still in surgery, the nurse on the phone had made it clear that she may not make it through to the morning. Ginny’s suddenly aware that in terms of losing a parent, she is the more experienced of the two of them.

 

Once the barista hands their coffees to him, she gently squeezes his thigh to get his attention. “Mike, pull over. Let me drive for a while, okay?”

 

When he parks and they get out to switch sides, she walks over to him quickly, wrapping her arms around him before pulling him to her. His face is buried in her hair and she hears him sniffle before pulling back and rubbing his eyes quickly.

 

“I just keep thinking what if we get there and…” He takes a deep shuddering breath unable to even finish the sentence.

 

“I’m not even a good son, I see her what, two times a year? I didn’t even see her for Christmas this year! And I never brought you to even just meet her, I mean she probably saw us in the tabloids, but no. I should do better, I should be better…"

 

She had never seen someone so willing to take all the blame for something that was not entirely his fault. But she could stand the thought of him believing he was the one at fault, that he thought he wasn’t a good man. She gently wiped the tears out of his eyes before she brought her hands down to hold onto his.

 

“Mike, listen to me. You are a good man and a good enough son. Maybe you should try to visit you mom just a little bit more, but that is something you can figure out. But remember, just because she is in the hospital does not erase the past, and I don’t want you thinking that you are the reason you two have a rocky relationship. But trust me, you will make it through this and god willing your mom will too. We’ll get to the hospital and figure out what comes next from there. So no more what ifs, okay?”

 

He nods, taking in a deep, calming breath before leaning in to kiss her.

 

“I’m glad my speech-giving skills are rubbing off on you. Let’s get back on the road. And I don’t want any damage to my car!” He gave her his normal cocky smile, but she could see it didn’t reach his eyes. She decided she could let his comment about her driving slide this once.

 

She let go of his hands and made her way to get in the driver’s seat. Before she got in the car though he called over to her. “Hey Gin? Thank you. I couldn’t do this without you.”

 

She decided then that his mother needed to be okay and that he could finally introduce the two of them. After all, she needed to meet the woman at least partially responsible for making him into the man she loved.


	2. It reminded me of you.

Mike dropped his bags on the floor before locking the front door behind him and resetting the security alarm. It must have been after midnight and after more than a week on the east coast he was exhausted, his body assuming it was already the early morning hours. He was just grateful to be home after an endless day of flight delays and then a rerouting. Right now, he just wanted to lay down in his bed and sleep for the foreseeable future.

 

Reluctantly he brought his bags upstairs knowing that if he didn’t unpack tonight, the bags would sit there for a week until he needed to wear something that was still packed. He flicked on the lights, this time just dropping the bags on the ottoman at the end of the bed. A bed that he could’ve sworn he made before leaving for his trip. His confusion was short-lived when the pile of his comforter was pushed down to reveal a disheveled and still half asleep Ginny Baker.

 

“I thought your flight got delayed and you were coming in tomorrow morning?” She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before sitting up to stretch.

 

He was momentarily speechless, being hit by how much he had missed her the past ten days, talking on the phone a pale comparison to the actual living thing. He realized how much he missed falling asleep and waking up next to her…God, he needed to finally convince her to move in with him.

 

“We got rerouted to Palm Springs. It was quicker to get an Uber back instead of waiting for another plane. I thought you were staying at the Omni?” He immediately gave up on unpacking his things, instead choosing to sit on the edge of the bed.

 

“That had been the plan but…” She fidgeted with the sleeve of what he was pretty sure was his Padres zip-up from his first season, the one he considered his lucky sweatshirt. She finally met his eye and let out a nervous chuckle. “I’ve gotten used to you being around all the time and I missed you.”

 

She looked as though she was unsure whether or not she should’ve confessed that to him.

 

“C’mere.” He gently pulled her towards him and she easily made her way into his lap, her legs straddling his thighs, her hands on his chest, her lips a whisper away from his. “If I had known you were here, I would’ve been quiet, wouldn’t have woken you up.”

 

She smiled before closing any distance between them with a kiss.

 

“Eh, who needs sleep? I’m young right?” She gave him a shit-eating grin and he had no other choice that to kiss it straight off her face. He had been gone for just ten days and now he was ready to never leave her or their bed ever again.

 

She leaned back, breaking the kiss, her arms still linked behind his neck. He played with the bottom of his sweatshirt, his fingers tracing circles on the warm flesh of her hips.

 

“Also..” She continued, “I was thinking, maybe you might be on to something will all your moving in together talk.”

 

Now he was the one who couldn’t stop the grin from forming on his face.

 

“Oh, yeah?” He pulled her in, flush against his body as he began to kiss her, fingers trailing up her spine, causing her to shiver despite his over-sized sweatshirt on her small frame. As he went to deepen the kiss however, she leaned back again and he groaned at the sudden loss of contact.

 

“But I was thinking, maybe we should find our own place? As much as I appreciate the fish bowl, it has the whole groupie, bachelor pad past. We should get a place for us.”

 

Her one hand made its way through his hair, fingers gently massaging at his scalp. He leaned into her touch. It seemed like a metaphor for his life right now, he’d follow her wherever she went.

 

“I like the sound of that, a place for us. Turns out even in retirement the lucky sweatshirt is still pretty lucky.” She scrunched up her face at him and grabbed at the now offensive article of clothing.

 

“This is your lucky sweatshirt? Out of all the Padres stuff you own, this old thing is lucky?”

 

“Hey, you’re the one who broke into my house and decided it was suitable sleepwear!” She lightly slapped him in the chest before she curled into his body, her head resting in the crook of his neck. 

 

“I missed having you around. It reminded me of you. And it still smells like you. All your other clothes just smelled like laundry detergent.”

 

He placed a kiss on her forehead and she yawned causing a chain reaction in himself.

 

“What happened to ‘I don’t need sleep I’m young?”

 

“You woke me up in the middle of the night!”

 

“You weren’t supposed to be here!”

 

“I missed you so, there.” He chuckled realizing that he even missed their almost constant banter. She smiled at him affectionately before yawning again.

 

“I missed you too, rook. But I think we need to go to sleep before we pass out in this position. It’d be hell on my back.”

 

She crawled out of his lap and back into the pile of blankets he had found her in. He figured he could just unpack tomorrow whenever they finally got out of bed. He turned off the lights and stripped down to his boxers before climbing into the bed next to her. When she cuddled into him, half of her curled on top of him, he realized how glad he really was that she was here.


	3. No, no. It's my treat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys you are amazing and so kind!!! So since you've been so amazing, I present the next chapter!

“Ginny, I don’t know how you do it! I can barely make it to Pilates class twice a week and my husband says you go in each morning to work out and that’s on top of practice and games!”

 

Somehow she had gotten stuck in a conversation with Stubs’ wife and despite her being perfectly nice they had absolutely nothing in common. And after almost twenty minutes, she was out of small talk topic starters. 

 

“Well, you know it is my job and there’s the whole nature working against me. But honestly my father taught me the importance of having a regimen and I’ve lived by that.” She was trying to send a signal to Evelyn that she needed her to come and interrupt but she was too busy putting out the sides and salad. 

 

“You know what Lindsey, I’m going to see if Evelyn needs help, it was good talking to you!” 

 

She grabbed a new beer on her way into the kitchen where she found Evelyn and the twins, each with a chocolate fundraising box.

 

“Boys, I’m sure Aunt Ginny would love to buy some!” Evelyn smiled brightly at her as she began putting rolls on a tray.

 

To be honest she should have expected this from a get together at the Sanders residence, Evelyn was usually being sneaky about something. Granted she was usually trying to set her up with someone, but she wouldn’t put it past Evelyn to orchestrate a late summer barbeque for the team so the boys could sell all their chocolate without her selling it. 

 

“Do you guys still have the ones with raspberry filling inside the chocolate?” Their initial chorus of ‘Aunt Ginny’ was quickly replaced with yeses and questioning whether she wanted them all. She smiled at their exuberance before remembering she had no cash on her. 

 

“Guys, I didn’t bring my wallet with me! How about you see if anyone outside wants some chocolate. If you can, try to save me one, and I’ll see if I can borrow a dollar from someone, okay?”

 

They both nodded before running outside with their boxes of chocolate. She watched as they nearly tackled Mike on his way over from the grill. He bought a bar from each boy before they started running to the next customer.

 

She turned to Evelyn, “Did you plan this shindig so they could sell all their bars at once?” Evelyn tried to play it cool, before giving up and laughing.

 

“I don’t even know what you mean!” The sliding door opened, and both women turned to see Mike entering the kitchen.

 

“Ev, Blip said he was ready for the meat as well as your help.” He gestured over to Blip who had changed into an apron that said ‘Kiss the Cook’. Evelyn grabbed the two plates full of raw burgers and hotdogs that needed to be grilled and quickly made her way outside. 

 

“Bring the rolls out when you come back out!” Evelyn called back to them as she made her way to the grill. 

 

Mike closed the door behind her before moving to lean against the island counter next to Ginny. He offered her a chocolate bar with a pink gingham wrapper. She took it from him, smiling like she had won the lottery.

 

“Word on the street is you forgot your wallet.” She held his gaze for a moment before eagerly ripping the wrapper open. She popped the first piece into her mouth, savoring the bitter dark chocolate filled with sweet raspberry jam before offering the next piece to him. He shook his head. 

 

“No, no. It’s my treat. Also I’ve got a peanut butter one for me.”

 

She quickly ate the second piece before it had a chance to melt in her fingers.

 

“I thought we agreed no special treatment?” She nudged his side. “You gonna buy each of our team members a chocolate bar too?”

 

He moved his arm so that it rested on the counter behind them, but he was able trace small circles on her lower back, the space between her cropped top and jeans revealing silky skin. He figured from this angle, anyone outside would be unable to see where his hand rested.

 

“See we agreed no special treatment at work. Last time I checked our season ended last weekend and we’re not at Petco…” She gave him a face that showed he had convinced her. “So seeing as I’m only sleeping with you, you’re the only one here who gets a chocolate bar.”

 

“I guess I can live with that logic. Hey, can I have a piece of yours? Peanut butter’s my second favorite.” He broke off the first piece and handed it to her.

 

“Only because you’re my favorite.”

 

He gave her that look and she had to force herself to remember that they were in public and that secret relationships needed to be hidden to actually stay secret. God, she wanted to kiss the man. When she finally focused back on everyone outside she saw Evelyn waving at them to come out. Ginny grabbed the tray of rolls and began to make her way outside. 

 

Before she went over to the grill area, she turned to him and gave him a wink. “Mike, I’ll thank you for the chocolate later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And something to look forward to- I have no tests for 3 weeks which means lots of writing this weekend hopefully!  
> As always, let me know what you think because it seriously makes my day!


	4. Come here. Let me fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So new chapter! Not gonna lie, I don't love this chapter. But if you like it more than I do, let me know!

She is grumpy. She knows it, the team knows it, hell- the game’s commentators know it. There is literally no other way to describe the mood she had been in for the last two weeks. She had talked to the specialists at the hospital and then she had talked to her shrink and both had the same opinion, with an injury like hers, she was bound to be pissed off for a while before she moved into the acceptance phase. 

 

In the back of her mind she could only focus on one fact- that she had come so close to pitching a no-hitter. She had come so close to ending her first season on a high note. She had come so close to proving her nay-sayers wrong, proving she did belong in the majors. She had come so close to having it all but now all she had was a brace, a sling, and a doctor’s order to do nothing for at the minimum eight weeks. Barely two weeks through this type of hell and she was starting to go stir crazy. 

 

If everything went according to plan with her injury, she was still almost two months away from the beginning of rehab. Days spent without workouts and team practice meant she had a lot of free time. With Amelia going back to Los Angeles and the near silence from her family, her free time was beginning to feel lonely. Noah was helping to keep her busy, but she couldn’t get rid of the nagging feeling that there was something off with their relationship.

 

At this point in the hellish limbo that was her life, the only thing going for her is that she was able to attend the team’s remaining games of the season. However right now, that was contributing to her mood since the Giants just got another run in and she was in the prime spot to see Rachel cheering on Mike from the stands. 

 

She was grumpy to say the least. If the guys kept it up, their chances of making the playoffs would go from unlikely to actually a zero percent chance. This was not how everything was supposed to end, this was not what she had planned and worked so hard for. Right now though she had to focus on breathing because she was dangerously close to either crying or screaming, both of which were not an option right now.

 

Mike gets the third out, removing his mask to wink at Rachel as he makes his way into the dugout along with the rest of the team. Ginny goes to turn her head to avoid the spectacle, trying to ignore the other nagging feeling that has been around since Rachel had returned. However, instead of turning away her hair gets caught on something, keeping her at an awkward angle and with her unable to move her injured arm she can’t assess what was wrong. 

 

Mike is the last one in the dugout and throws here a questioning look before removing his catcher’s gear. The padding gets put in the corner before he sits down near her. “What’s wrong with you?”

 

She stops herself from saying the first retort that comes to mind, instead planning her words before she speaks.

 

“I think I’m stuck. I think my hair is in the strap but I can’t figure out what it is.” He moves closer to her on the bench to see what is going on. 

 

“Come here. Let me fix it. Looks like your necklace is stuck under the strap and that your hair is caught on that. Let me just…”

 

The calluses on his fingers lightly scratch at her shoulder disentangling the mess she can’t even see. He takes care with the sling’s strap, gently removing the necklace from under it. His hand lingers for a moment, dangerously close to her pulse point. She struggles to steady her breathing, hoping he can’t feel how rapid her pulse is currently.

 

“There you go, all fixed.”

 

She also tries not to overanalyze the fact that she can feel her mood start to change away from the bad mood that had been plaguing her day. 

 

She gives him a thankful smile before adding, “You need to rally the troops. We’re getting killed out there.”

 

He gives her a look of disgust but she can tell it’s all show.

 

“What, you haven’t had enough speeches?” She lets out a guffaw and shakes her head at him. 

 

“It’s not for me old man, for them. That or otherwise there won’t be anymore speeches from you because the season will be over.” He only rolls his eyes at her before going over to the guys to try and raise their spirits. After all, he was able to raise hers.


	5. I'll walk you home.

“Come on. I’ll walk you home.” He threw on his leather jacket before grabbing his duffel bag. At this point there’s no one else in the clubhouse, which is not an unusual occurrence for her but usually he’s long gone before she’s ready to leave.

 

“Are you serious right now?” He feigns a look of surprise at her words.

 

“What?! Come on, I’m trying to be nice, some would even say I’m being a gentleman.” Now it was her turn to be shocked. She grabs her bag and they begin to make their way through the empty back hallways of the stadium.

 

“You, a gentleman? I think the beard alone ruins that description.” Her comeback causes them both to chuckle, the sound echoing around them and down the hallway.

 

“Oh you think you’re funny do you? I remember a certain pitcher being very upset when the beard was gone during the off season.” 

 

His retort stops her laughter, his comment crossing the delicate line that they had drawn between them after that night at Boardners. Mike Lawson without a beard was a man she didn’t know, he was a man who belonged on posters and to another woman. The reappearance of the beard coincided with the beginning of the new year, when the recoupling with his ex-wife ended almost six months after it began. 

 

Once they make it outside to the street, he pauses, seeming to realize the potential the situation has for awkwardness. 

 

“If you don’t want me to walk you back, I don’t have to, it was a ridiculous idea.” He rubs his hand through his new beard nervously and she found his nervous tic endearing. 

 

“No it’s okay, I’ll let you prove you’re actually a gentleman underneath all of that.” She gestures to his beard again before they started to walk towards her rented condo.

 

“By the way, I will never admit to loving the beard.” He gave her a disbelieving look. “Never! Now that in between scruff you had, now that is another story.”

 

Their banter since they had shown up to spring training had been much more flirtatious, something she tried not to focus on too much. She chalked part of it up to her being more confident now that her arm was back and better than ever. But maybe part of it was because she felt more comfortable with the team. Maybe it was because she couldn’t remember why she had made it a rule to not date ball players half the time. 

 

“Oh yeah? The scruff did it for you?”

 

To say the semblance of a beard he had shown up to spring training with had done it for her would be an understatement. The multiple vivid dreams that had featured it those first couple of weeks had proved that maybe she didn’t fully hate the beard. Not that she would tell him that. 

 

“See Baker, I think you’re trying to say you like the beard, and you’re glad that it’s back to its normal self.”

 

“See, I don’t think that’s what I’m trying to say.” They had made it to the gated community where she had rented a condo during spring training. She entered the code in to open the gate before they both made their way to her front door. 

 

“I think you said that you did in fact miss the beard, which is a little bit of a shock, you know with the poster on your wall and all.” 

 

He snapped the gum he’d been chewing and god, all she wanted to do was wipe that smirk off his face. Instead, she unlocked and opened her front door before turning to face him again. 

 

“Mike. You got rid of the beard because you got back together with Rachel. And yeah that’s how you looked on that poster. But my Mike Lawson…it’s the version of you that has the beard. Maybe avoid the full-blown Duck Dynasty look though?”

 

A speechless and gaping Mike Lawson was a sight to behold, even though it didn’t quite last a minute. 

 

“See, I knew you loved it.” He said before making his way back down her sidewalk as she leaned into the door frame.

 

“I would never admit it. Your ego doesn’t need to be any bigger. But Mike, thanks for walking me home.” She half yelled to him as he moved further away from her. 

 

He gave her a wave before walking out of her sight and back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it's taken me what feels like ages to write this chapter. School and life have been HECTIC and my inspiration just up and left me. Thankfully, a rewatch of 17 People helped! Let me know what you think (as always) especially if their banter was okay- I feel like it may have been a little off.  
> Also I love you all- everyone's been so freaking nice!


	6. Have a good day at work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna get real with y'all. This chapter is literally my favorite thing I have ever written in my life. So I really hope you enjoy the fluffy sweetness that is this chapter as much as I do!

“Daddy…daddy wake up!” He hears the loud whisper of the three year old, accompanied by the jabbing pokes to his back. 

 

He rolls over to find the toddler standing next to the bed, the thumb of one hand in her mouth, the other hand holding her favorite penguin stuffed animal. When she sees he’s finally awake, she takes her thumb out of her mouth with a soft pop. 

 

“Can I get in your bed?” 

 

She lifts her arms up, ready to be picked up and let into the bed before he’s even answered her. Granted, he’s wrapped around her finger, of course he was going to say yes. He picks her up so she can get into the bed and she quickly climbs into the space between him and Ginny. 

 

He looks at the alarm clock quickly, realizing that at six o’clock, he could still spend some time in bed before he had to get ready to leave. He rolls back over, his daughter’s head on the edge of his pillow, her pink fleece pajamas in stark contrast to the white comforter on the bed. 

 

“I was so good for Mama last night. I ate all my dinner and I stayed in bed all night.” She loudly whispers again. Her hand comes up, her little fingers playing with his beard as she continues to tell him about yesterday.

 

“And Mama read me two stories! The princess one and a new one! It’s about big sisters and Mama said I get to be a big sister when the baby comes!” 

 

“Are you excited about being a big sister?” She nods her head excitedly, her smile so big, her hazel eyes squeeze shut.

 

“Daddy, can you read my bedtime stories tonight?” She wiggles closer to his face before whispering a little quieter to him, “Mama didn’t do the voices right.”

 

“I wish I could peanut, but I have to work one more night. But how about tomorrow night, we’ll read three stories to make up for it?” Her face is sad for a moment before an excited smile takes over.

 

She finally removes her hand from his face, bringing up three fingers. “Three stories?! We never read that many!” Her attempts at whispering are long forgotten and he can’t help but chuckle.

 

“I know! It can be our special World Series treat!”

 

He hears rustling across the bed, alerting him that Ginny was now awake a few seconds before her warm legs bumped into his shins. 

 

“Is that my Minnie Bean I hear?” Ginny rolled over to face the two of them and Minnie quickly turned to cuddle into her mother. 

 

“Mama! Daddy’s gonna read me three stories tomorrow!” She holds up three fingers again, this time an inch from Ginny’s face. 

 

“Oh is he? You’re the luckiest little girl!” She gently tickles down the little girl’s side, causing her to squirm and let out a high pitched laugh.

 

“Mm hmm! And don’t worry Mama, I’ll help you with the voices tonight!” Both him and Ginny lightly chuckle at the toddler’s offer.

 

“Okay, sounds like a plan.” The voice she used was serious, but the face she gave him meant she was close to laughing.

 

She gasps and breaks eye contact with him, something that causes him to momentarily panic, his heart stopping for a second before he notices her beaming smile. 

 

“Minnie bean, take your hand and put it right here.” She helps their daughter put her hand in the right spot on her stomach, which after six months is starting to stretch against the normally oversized sleep shirt. “Do you feel that? It’s your little brother or sister, they wanted to say hi.”

 

“Hi baby! I’m Minnie!”

 

He moves over closer to his girls, putting his hand on top of Minnie’s. Sure enough he can feel the baby moving underneath his hand. He leans over to quickly kiss Ginny, simply amazed by their little family.

 

“How long has this been happening?” He curses his schedule this week, wishing he had been around when the baby’s movements had become detectable, not just the fluttering she could feel. He thinks back to when she had been pregnant with Minnie and they would just lay around either in bed or on the sofa, entranced by the movements.

 

“He started yesterday while I was watching the pregame coverage. Must know his daddy’s voice. I was going to tell you last night but I didn’t hear you come back.” 

 

From the moment they found out she was pregnant she had been convinced it was a boy and secretly he was hoping she was right. And while she was convinced it was a boy, she was adamant they not find out the baby’s sex until the delivery. So each night they debated names for the fourth member of their family. 

 

He couldn’t keep the grin from forming on his face, the idea of the baby recognizing his voice, instantly making him proud. “You think so?”

 

She simply nods at him, bringing one hand to rest on top of his, the other gently raking through Minnie’s curls, the little girl seeming to have fallen back asleep. 

 

“It was late when I got back and you were already asleep. I didn’t want to wake you up.”

 

“I know, just remember I’ll never be mad at you for waking me up to let me know you’re home.”

 

“I’ll remind you of that when you’re grumbling at me later tonight.” She lightly swats at his chest for that comment. 

 

“You do that.” She chuckles before noting the time on the alarm behind him. “However, you’re about to be running late.”

 

He gives her another quick kiss before getting out of bed and making his way to the shower. He’s got enough time to shower and make breakfast before hitting the road and thankfully he had left all his things at the studio the day before, meaning no time had to be spent packing things like his suit. 

 

A quick shower and a batch of pancakes later, he’s ready to leave, and is actually running five minutes ahead of schedule. When he returns to their bedroom, he finds both of his girls asleep, Minnie still cuddled against her mother, Ginny’s arms wrapped around her baby girl. He can’t help but take out his phone to take a few pictures that will likely make their way to his Instagram and would soon be his new phone background. 

 

He gently nudges her awake again and leans in to give her a kiss goodbye. 

 

“I’ve got to get going, Gin. I made pancakes, they’re in the oven to keep warm until you guys get up.”

 

“Have a good day at work.” She smiles up at him and he wishes he didn’t have to travel to LA today instead getting to cocoon in bed all day with them. At least today was game seven, meaning no more trips to LA until next season started.

 

“I will. You three behave yourselves, okay?” He gives her one last kiss before leaving for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, let me know what you think! Like I may do a little happy dance any time there's a message in my inbox!


	7. I dreamt about you last night.

Ginny threw out the disinfecting wipe and grabbed her water bottle from the treadmill, making her way to the mats to do the stretches that indicated the end of her morning workout. She’s grabbing the foam roller when she hears the sound of angry footsteps, heels clicking through the empty hallways. 

 

She’s uncertain who would be at the stadium right now since it was the off-season, but especially since it was the dreaded week between Christmas and New Year’s. Hell, the only reason Ginny was there was because spring training started in less than two months and she still had a lot of work to do if she wanted to pick up where she left off last season. 

 

Figuring that it’s someone meeting with management, Ginny moves into her first yoga pose, feeling the familiar pull at her muscles. She loses her balance when she looks up to see a pissed off Rachel Patrick in front of her. 

 

“Are you sleeping with my husband?!”

 

“What?” Ginny’s hyperaware that Rachel referred to him as her husband even though she knew the divorce had been finalized close to a year ago. 

 

“Are. You. Sleeping. With. Mike. Are you two having an affair?” She crosses her arms across her chest, waiting for an answer.

 

“No! Of course I’m not sleeping with him! I can’t believe you would…Mike would never cheat!” 

 

The redhead lets out a bitter laugh before her hands come up to put pressure on her temples as she closes her eyes for a moment. She plasters on a fake smile before talking again. 

 

“You know what, you’re right. Good luck with everything, looks like you’re on schedule to make it in time for spring training.” She turns on her heel, leaving Ginny alone again without giving her the chance to even utter goodbye. 

 

That night she calls his cell, figuring the outburst from Rachel meant she would be staying in LA for the next few days. She almost hangs up after the third ring, but he picks up right before she moves to end the call. 

 

“Hey rook, how was your Christmas?”

 

“It was okay, went to Tarboro for the long weekend, still trying to get used to my mom and Kevin actually living together. I just got back yesterday. How was yours?” She picks at the edge of her old tee shirt, sticking to small talk instead of discussing the topic she called to discuss. 

 

“Not too bad. Went to Rachel’s sister’s, which was fun until she got drunk and started yelling at me. According to her, Rachel is too good for me all of a sudden. What’s new, it’s been a while since you’ve called.” 

 

He was right, since he had rekindled his relationship with Rachel she hadn’t wanted to interrupt them. So when they rarely talked on the phone, he had been the initiator. But she’d been wondering all day what had caused Rachel to confront her at the stadium.

 

“You would never have an affair, would you? You’d never cheat, right?” She spoke fast, the question feeling too personal no matter how close they were. Her questions were met with silence, only the sounds of his breathing coming through the speaker. He’s no doubt trying to formulate a response to her out of the blue question.

 

“I would never…you know I wouldn’t do that, right?” She knows he wouldn’t. She just had to make sure.

 

“I know.” She pauses, trying to decide whether to disclose the visit from Rachel earlier in the day. “I saw Rachel today. She accused me of sleeping with you.”

 

“Ginny…”

 

“I told her you would never cheat, I just wanted to make sure.” She interrupted. Neither of them spoke for a minute. 

 

“Shit. She shouldn’t have, I…I dreamt about you last night.” He pauses before continuing his explanation. “And I guess when I pulled her closer to me I called her Gin.” 

 

She thinks she’s stopped breathing, because Mike Lawson just admitted to dreaming about her. And had alluded to its non-platonic nature. She has to focus back on his voice because she has momentarily zoned out. 

 

“And trust me I know it was inappropriate and believe me when I tell you that this whole conversation is mortifying for me.” She needs to put him out of this misery, talking himself in circles.

 

“Hey, it’s okay. It happens. Seriously don’t worry about it.” She hears him let out a sigh of relief. 

 

“It’s just, I’ve been in love with Rachel for almost a decade. And I’ve wanted her back since I found out she was leaving. But it’s just not working between us. No matter what, it’s not the same anymore and I’m not sure how to make it like before.”

 

Her heart breaks for him, she wishes she was talking to him in person so that she could wrap her arms around him and say it was not his fault. 

 

“Sometimes it just doesn’t work.”

 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case if you haven't learned from the past 6 chapters, I love to hear what your thoughts are!


	8. Take my seat.

At the end of the day, they get absolutely killed by the Dodgers, losing 10-4. His knees are killing him, he feels like an idiot for the way the team played today and then being told off by Ginny in the locker rooms was only adding to his bad mood. 

 

So when they get onto the bus to go back to San Diego, he chooses to sit next to Salvamini instead of his normal spot next to Baker. At least he chose the seat across the aisle from her. If she wanted some space, he was going to give her the bare minimum. 

 

“Trouble in paradise? Thought you and Baker worked out all your shit during spring training?” 

 

“Shut the fuck up. I’m trying to be a good captain, figured I’d spend some time with other teammates.”

 

He took out his phone and quickly fired her a text. Maybe she’d be more willing to talk through the phone than in person while their teammates were around.

 

It’s nearly an hour into the trip before he notices that almost everyone on the bus is asleep. Across the aisle, Robles is still awake watching some movie on his iPad with the sound up so loud he can hear snippets of the dialogue from the headphones. The lit iPad also illuminates a still awake Ginny looking out the window. 

 

“Robles. Take my seat” Mike has to hit the other player’s shoulder to get his attention. The confused look he gives as he removes his headphones also shows he hadn’t heard what Mike said. 

 

“Take my seat- switch with me. I need to talk to Ginny.”’

 

“We’re on the freeway. I’m not just gonna stand in the aisle while we’re driving. What if we get in an accident?”

 

“Are you fucking kidding me? We’re the only vehicle on the road and I think in the thirty seconds you’d be standing it would be okay.”

 

Robles grabs his things out of the pouch on the back of the chair in front of him. As he got ready to stand, Ginny turned away from the window and toward her seatmate. 

 

“Omar sit down. I don’t want to sit next to him right now.” He did as he was told, but kept all of this things in his lap, not putting them back quite yet.

 

“What? So now you don’t want to sit next to me?” He loudly whispers over to her, ignoring Robles in between them.

 

“That is not the problem and you know it.”

 

“Robles move.” Instead of getting up, the man stuck in the middle looked to Ginny.

 

“Don’t.” She gives a pointed look to Omar and then focuses on Mike who at this point was standing in the aisle. “Now you’re just making a scene.”

 

“And you’re being ridiculous.” He immediately regretted his words and if looks could kill, Ginny was currently plotting his murder. 

 

“Robles get up.” This time his tone was forceful and he was prepared to have a long discussion about questioning the captain’s orders with him if he didn’t get out of the damn seat. 

 

“Ginny I’m sorry, but I really want to finish Arrival before we get back home. And I don’t want to be in the middle of this really.” With that he finally moved over to Mike’s original seat. Mike quickly sat down next to a seething Ginny.

 

“What the hell was that?!” She kept her voice low and gave a shove at his shoulder. 

 

“I texted you and you ignored me.” He whispered to her as he checked to make sure no one else had been alerted to their disagreement. Thankfully no one had woken up and Robles was once again engrossed in his movie. 

 

“Well you ignored me first.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest, clearly defensive.

 

“You told me to back off! All I did was sit with Sal.” This was quickly turning into a no-win argument, one he’d like to end before he said something truly stupid.

 

“Do me a favor, try to think back to the last time you sat next to Sal on the bus.” 

 

And he sat there for a minute and thought about it. The last time he could pinpoint sitting next to Sal on the bus was before she had joined the team. Frankly as he tried to go back through the different bus trips through the past year and a half he primarily remembered sitting only with her. Oh. Now he knew why she had been upset with him.

“Gin…”

 

“Don’t Gin me.” God, she could be so stubborn. He ran his hand through his beard, trying to plan the next words he wanted to say.

 

“Look. You told me to back off. I thought you meant you wanted some space so I sat with Sal. Trust me, after a game like today, there’s no one I’d rather sit next to on the bus.” She dropped her arms, her hands coming to rest in her lap. He gently grabbed one, entwining their fingers together, the darkness covering their actions from their teammates. 

 

“I’m sorry I freaked out on you. Today sucked. And you know I can’t sleep by myself on the bus.” She paused before she leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. When she continued, her whisper was so low he almost missed it. “Are you ever worried that sometimes this is harder than you thought it would be?”

 

His heart clenched, because recently his greatest fear had become that one day she’ll change her mind, that all the secrecy and hiding isn’t worth it.

 

“Sometimes it is, and sometimes I can’t remember if something was normal before or only normal because of y’know, everything now.” She turned her head to place a kiss to his shoulder. 

 

“You mean the whole being wildly in love with me?” She may have been teasing him, but she hit the nail straight on the head.

 

“Yeah, and trust me, it definitely is all worth it.”

 

“You’re such a sap.” She yawned halfway through the last word and he knew she had about two minutes before she fell asleep. 

 

When the bus arrives at San Diego, Ginny’s asleep on his shoulder and he’d dosed off, his cheek leaning against the top of her head. He’s jostled awake when the bus stops though she’s still asleep. He runs his hand soothingly up her leg until she wakes up as well.

 

“Come on Rook, let’s get you home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So technically the sentence wasn't spoken between them, but I struggled coming up with this one! Hope you guys liked it!


	9. I saved a piece for you.

They had won the game and secured their spot in the playoffs this year. While they had made it to playoffs the year before, it had almost been a fluke. This year, it felt right. The team was playing the best it ever had and they were expected to win the playoffs against the Dodgers. Hell, a handful of commentators were speculating that this was the year the Padres won the World Series. The fact that this was all happening during his last year had him pinching himself to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

 

While they had the playoffs coming up, it was now official, his last regular season as a Padre was finished. There had been no better way to end the season with an at home game that the team won, partially due to his two homeruns. With Ginny pitching and him behind the plate, he couldn’t have wished for a better ending to his final season, as bittersweet as it may have been. 

 

He’d easily spent an extra half hour signing baseballs and posters for fans before he made his way into the clubhouse, long after everyone else. He’s surprised to enter the clubhouse and find everyone mulling around, still in their uniforms, while a table with a cake on it stands in the middle of the room. 

 

“What’s going on guys?” He walks over to the table and sees the sheet cake with the picture from his rookie card on top of the icing.

 

“Well with the traveling and uncertainty of playoffs we figured we’d celebrate you’re going to pasture now while we had the chance.” Blip comes up and slaps him on the shoulder. “Thought it would be funny to put your rookie picture on it. Also please spare us the speech. There’s an actual party for that!” 

 

He chuckles, trying not to think about how even with the best case scenario, he’ll no longer be on the team a month from now.

 

“Okay well you don’t have to wait for me, eat some cake!” He can only imagine the restraint it took for Sonny to not eat a piece considering how much he loves cake. 

 

He’s quickly pulled into a conversation with Stubbs and Salvamini and by the time he goes to grab some cake half of it is gone and he realizes he hasn’t seen Ginny since they were both out on the field. He quickly puts two pieces of cake onto a plate and makes his way to her changing room. 

 

He knocks quickly, not truly waiting for an answer before opening the door. As he’s halfway into the room he hears a sniffle and a half-assed “Yeah?”

 

“I saved a piece for you.” He closes the door behind him and puts the plate of cake down on her shelf. She takes a step further away from him and he notices her attempt to subtly wipe at her eyes. 

 

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

 

She doesn’t answer, instead, shaking her head and taking a couple of deep, calming breaths. She takes one more swipe at her eyes before crossing the small room to wrap her arms around him and bury her face in his chest. 

 

“You smell.” Her words vibrate against his chest, but she doesn’t move away. He takes the opportunity to wrap his arms around her.

 

“I just spent the last two hours catching your pitches.” His attempt to lighten the mood falling short before a somber silence enveloped them. 

 

“I’m going to miss you out there.” Her words are quiet but he can still hear the tremble in her voice.

 

“You realize I’m not going anywhere, right?” She pulls away from him and makes her way across the room 

 

“No, I know. I just…you’re not going to be behind the plate. You’re not going to be out there anymore, or at first base or even in the dugout.” She paces through her small room, managing to not look in his direction once. 

 

“And I know there’s still playoffs and obviously I’ve known you were going to retire, but just now it’s not something that’s going to happen…now it’s real.”

 

She stops pacing and turns to face him, meeting his eyes for the first time. Her eyes are red rimmed and there are clear tear streaks down her face. Without a second’s thought, he crosses over to her and pulls her back into his arms, letting one hand rub soothing circles on her back.

 

“Gin, trust me if there were any way that I could keep playing…”

 

“No, of course I know that. And that’s not what I want.” She leans back just enough so that she can look at his face, beard and all. “It’s just that this chapter is ending. Which makes me kind of sad because I really liked this chapter.”

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah old man. But I think the next chapter could be pretty good too.” She gave him a kiss before leaning back once again. “Now you said you brought me cake?”


	10. I'm sorry for your loss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am so sorry this chapter took about 75 years to write, but I promise the next chapter will not take close to as long to post! Also this chapter indirectly deals with miscarriage so if you're sensitive to the topic, I'd suggest skipping this chapter.

A lazy weekend is not something she is used to. As a baseball player, she’s never really had weekends off at all. She’s fairly certain she could count the times she had an entire weekend off on one hand. There was always fall ball, winter conditioning, spring training, and of course the regular season. First it was little league, then travel leagues before her high school team led to the minors. It was surprising how free her schedule could be in the off-season now that she’s in the majors. With her injury last year, she never really enjoyed her time off, instead training harder than ever to be ready for the next season. This year though, she’s determined to spend a little less time focusing on the game and a little more time enjoying her life. And after they lost in the playoffs, she decided her first weekend off would be one spent lying in bed, ignoring the outside world.

 

Granted, she is disappointed that they came so close to the World Series, only to lose in Game 7 of the playoffs but being able to sleep in and eat breakfast in bed is pretty nice. That, and if she’s being honest, a weekend full of sex is making the loss much more bearable. Especially since it doesn’t involve sneaking in or out of hotel rooms. It also gives them the time to pretend they’re just a regular, normal couple, not the somewhat forbidden and secret relationship they are.

 

She thinks though, that this moment could make up for any of the times that she’s questioned whether it all was worth it. Because watching the sun set, her head resting on his chest, legs entangled while he slowly ran his hand up and down her back, well it was perfect. 

 

“Why’d you buy this place?” While the large glass planes allowed for an unparalleled view of the sunset, she couldn’t imagine why anyone would choose a house primarily made of glass. 

 

“It was the complete opposite of the house I had with Rachel. Went from the family friendly colonial in the suburbs to the glass bachelor pad near the beach.” She felt him shrug, as if it was an obvious reason. 

 

“Can I ask you a question…about you and Rachel?” She usually doesn’t like to focus on the past relationship and knows the he doesn’t love talking about the failed marriage. But his comment has her curiosity piqued. 

 

“Yeah, what’s up?”

 

“Is there a reason you didn’t have children? Did you not want kids?” She feels like she took the coward’s way out, still looking at the sunset instead of at him. His hand on her back pauses and she tilts her head up to look at him.

 

“No, it wasn’t that. It just never was the right time. When we got married she was only twenty-three and I had just made the all-star team so we gave it a couple of years. Then she got her big break at Fox so she was staying in L.A. more and I was staying out here. At some point it just became a fight instead of planning for a family.” 

 

He pauses before breaking their eye contact to look outside at the end of the sunset. She’s not sure if done with the topic or not. She shifts her position so she’s leaning against the pillows instead of him. She’s momentarily glad she had put on one of his old t-shirts a while ago, the idea of being completely naked while having this conversation seeming inappropriate. She gently touches his cheek, trying to regain his focus.

 

“She got pregnant about five years ago.” He says as he turns back to her, the look in his eyes explaining what happened before he even said the words.

 

“She had a miscarriage.”

 

“Yeah, about two months in. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life.” He confesses before nuzzling into her neck. “You’re the only person I’ve ever told.” 

 

She cuddles into him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. “Mike, I’m sorry for your loss. I just can’t imagine.”

 

He kisses the top of her head. “It left me with a lot of what if’s you know? Would the marriage have been better? Would the divorce have been worse? What would they have been like?”

 

She’s suddenly sad that there’s not a mini Mike in the world, a kid with his hazel eyes and charming personality.

 

“I’m sorry I brought it up. We’re supposed to be having a relaxing weekend and of course I bring up the serious topics no one wants to really talk about…”

 

“Gin, listen to me. When I told you I’m in? I’m in. You’re the one I want to tell these things to. Yeah, I’d rather talk about the good things, but I want to talk to you about the hard stuff too, okay?” He angles his head down so that he can meet her eye. She nods in agreement before leaning up to kiss him. She breaks the kiss when her stomach rumbles and she’s reminded that it’s fairly late in the day and they haven’t had dinner yet.

 

“Chinese or pizza?” Her question earns her a chuckle and a smile that causes his eyes to crinkle. She couldn’t be more happy to have a lazy weekend in bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also I feel like I should apologize for being a bit angsty in this chapter. Happier things are ahead! I also love hearing your opinions and of course love kudos, so let me know what you think!


	11. You can have half.

“What do you think you’re doing?” He turned to find her with her hand halfway to her mouth, one of his fries in her hand. It’s not like his question stops her though, she just gives him a challenging look and pops the fry into her mouth.

 

After celebratory drinks out as a team, a smaller group had decided to make a pitstop for food before going back to the hotel. Since Evelyn had banned Blip from eating red meat at home since the smell was currently making her nauseous, the only logical choice for late night food had been burgers. Good thing Mike remembered the best late night burger spot from the last time they had played a series against the Mets. 

 

“In case you forgot, that’s my food. Burger and curly fries was what I ordered.” 

 

“See I do remember that because I thought, what kind of grown man orders curly fries?” Her statement earns a raised eyebrow from him while the surrounding group of their teammates snickered at her retort, obviously focused on the teasing between the two of them.

 

“Says the woman eating all of my fries.” He smacked her hand away as she went to grab yet another fry from his plate.

 

“I would hardly consider the one fry I just ate as all of your fries.”

 

“I would agree with you if you hadn’t already eaten four of them.” She gave him a look of shock, hand paused, hovering above the fries on his plate. “Saw you in my peripherals, don’t think you were getting away with it.”

 

“Mike, can I have a fry? Please?” She even threw in the batting of her lashes, trying to gain herself access to the curly fries, even though she could feel her annoyance growing. She’d never admit it but she definitely regretted not ordering her own side of fries.

 

“No.” His straight face told her he wasn’t messing around anymore, that he was really telling her no instead of giving her a hard time. 

 

“Are you serious?” She was tired, her buzz from the drinks earlier was wearing off, and all she wanted right now was some fries. 

 

“I asked you three separate times if you wanted food. And you know what your answer was each time?” The look she gave him was one that could kill.

 

“Oh no, Mom and Dad are fighting. Trouble in paradise?” 

 

The entire table of players turned to face the rookie shortstop who broke the unspoken rule that they all abided by. A couple of their teammates threw some fries at Cortez while a couple players muttered asshole under their breath. Ginny got up, saying something about fresh air, her frustration and annoyance getting the best of her. 

 

Mike shot Blip a look as he stood up to leave the table. “Will you talk to him?”

 

The cold air hit him as he walked out the door, he’d left his jacket inside, forgetting that May on the east coast translated to cold nights. It took him a minute to find her, almost halfway down the block, looking into a store’s window. He walked over, trying his best not to sneak up on her. 

 

“I’m sorry I was acting like a dick.” The store she was looking into was a pet store, a pen of puppies sleeping in the window in front of them.

 

“It’s okay I overreacted. It was just the last straw, I got hungry, and I was up too early and didn’t get enough sleep…” He crowded in behind her, placing a comforting hand on her back. She could feel the warmth radiating off him and she instinctually leaned into him. 

 

“I know that, remember? You slapped me because you were convinced the spider landed on my face. An imaginary nightmare spider.” His hand came up to run through his beard, remembering the slap to his cheek earlier that morning. 

 

She turned around to face him instead of the sleeping puppies. “Hey, if it had been real you’d be thanking me right now.”

 

“Maybe, but seeing as it was the remnant of a bad dream, I just ended up awake at 4am.” He feigned upset but she saw right through him. At least until he yawned, causing her to yawn as well. 

 

“You know, I could easily stay in my hotel room by myself tonight.” He took a step closer to her, closing any distance between them, his hands coming to rest on her hips. Being in New York City allowed for a certain level of anonymity, making it possible for them to be so close without strangers paying any attention to them. She took advantage of the opportunity and rested her head against his chest. 

 

He leaned down, to whisper in her ear. “I got the fries for you. Knew you’d eat my food anyway.”

 

She smiled to herself before leaning up to kiss the same cheek she had slapped this morning. “Does that mean I can have some of your burger too?”

 

“You can half. But can we go back? It’s a little cold out here and the sooner we finish the food, the sooner we get to go to sleep.”

 

“Food and a comfy bed. You know the way to a girl’s heart.” She gave him one quick kiss before pulling herself out of his arms so they could make their way back to their teammates. 

 

“Come on Baker, let’s get you fed.”


	12. Take my jacket, it's cold outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna apologize in advance for the angsty way this chapter turned out. Blame season 2 of Grey's Anatomy as well as my impending finals.

“So Rachel and Evelyn really don’t get along do they?”

 

 

He responds to her with a nervous chuckle, keeping his focus on arranging the logs correctly in the fire pit. “Rachel’s never really gotten along with the WAGs.”

 

 

She bites back the retort of _can’t imagine why_ instead taking a sip of her wine _._ At some point in the day, Rachel had asked what Ginny’s secret was, how she could feel fulfilled in life if she couldn’t work and was on the DL. She could easily imagine why the woman hadn’t gotten along with the other wives.

 

 

And honestly it hadn’t been a complete shock that there was tension between Evelyn and Rachel.  She had listened to Evelyn bitch about Rachel for the week prior, ever since the RSVP had come, a text from Mike saying they’d both be coming down from Los Angeles for the twins’ birthday party. But the tension she had expected was different from the constant passive aggressive remarks she’d witnessed all day.

 

 

Although, she had been surprised when Evelyn had kicked her out of the kitchen, leaving the two women to clean up while Ginny was relegated to help Mike make the fire for s’mores. According to the twins, it was the perfect night for a fire and s’mores, which was why they dealt with the fire while Blip went to buy marshmallows and chocolate at the store.

 

 

“The boys seem to really like Tech-boy. I’m sure it helped that he got them an advanced copy of that game.”

 

 

If she couldn’t tell by the nickname alone, his tone made his distaste for Noah clear. He lit a handful of newspaper with the lighter before wedging it underneath the logs. Before long, the fire's flames was growing, just like her annoyance with her captain.

 

 

“You know it wouldn’t kill you to call him Noah. It’s not like you don’t know his name. And yeah he does get along well with the boys. He’s been coming with me to Sunday night dinners the last few weeks.” After the other guests had left, Noah had gone to play video games with the boys in the basement. Right now, Ginny wished she was playing with them instead of outside alone with Mike.

 

 

The sound of the crackling fire quickly became the only noise as a tense silence fell between them. He let out a deep sigh that caused her to look over at him while she took another sip of wine. He rubbed at his jaw, a habit that must have evolved from when he used to scratch at his beard in frustration.

 

 

“I’m gonna just grab my coat from inside.” As she made her way towards the house she could see that Rachel and Evelyn had stopped cleaning up from the party, instead just standing on opposite ends of the kitchen island glaring at each other. She figured she could just quickly grab her jacket from the entryway without getting caught in the middle of the minor argument in the kitchen and opened the sliding door.

 

 

“Let it go Evelyn! We’re back together so stop making it seem like I’m ruining his life!” It took Rachel a minute to realize the door had been opened before she stopped yelling at Evelyn, which was replaced by her turning to glare at Ginny. Instead of venturing any further, she just stopped in the doorway unsure of whether to go through with grabbing her coat or not.

 

 

Her decision was easily made when Evelyn turned around to point towards the backyard before scolding Ginny as if she was one of her children. “Go back outside.”

 

 

She closed the door, leaving behind the hostile situation and her jacket to go back to the fire.

 

 

“I’m sorry, alright?” He lifts his head out of his hands when she comes back to the fire pit. His apology does little to make her forgive him.

 

 

“Fine. Let’s drop it.” She drops down into the Adirondack chair two away from his and takes another long sip of her wine. Hopefully the red wine she'd been drinking would help to keep her warm.

 

 

“And yet, it seems like you’re still pissed.”

 

 

She wants to continue to avoid the situation they’re in, the tense and awkward way they'd been treating each other, the argument they’d been avoiding since the season ended. But, her avoidance of the topic was easier when he was a couple of hours away, instead of sitting next to her, expertly pushing her buttons.

 

 

“And you don’t get to be pissed at me that I’m here with Noah when you’re with Rachel.”

 

 

Her words hang in the air and she can’t discern the look he gives her. He quickly stands up and just when she expected him to turn and leave, he takes off his worn leather jacket.

 

 

“Take my jacket, it’s cold outside.” He walks over to her before letting her say no, placing the jacket over her shoulders since her sling won’t allow for her to put her arm in the sleeve. He goes to sit back down, but the jacket retains his warmth and begins to immediately warm her.

 

 

“Thank you. I’m still pissed at you though. You can’t just leave me…leave us behind like that. It’s not fair.”

 

 

Because when it gets boiled down to it, even though she’s mad at him, she’s missed him more. When he left and cut her off cold turkey, she was more heartbroken than upset with him. Not that she would admit that to him now.

 

 

“I know. But Gin, she was my wife. I needed to be there.”

 

 

And ultimately she does understand it, but it doesn’t change the hurt the decision caused either. “I know.”

 

 

Before she can say anything else though, the door slides open and Gabe and Marcus come running out, holding the ingredients needed for s’mores. Gabe drops one of the bags of marshmallows and Noah picks it up, opening the bag on his way over so he can hand one to Ginny. Blip follows, holding the metal skewers needed for marshmallow roasting. Rachel and Evelyn are the last ones over, seeming to be civil towards one another. Evelyn gives her a questioning look at the jacket on her shoulders, a look Ginny gives her back by tilting her head towards Rachel. The face Evelyn makes is clear, it’s a story for another day.

 

 

Once their first s’mores are eaten, the twins turn to their parents with matching grins. “Told you it was the perfect night for s’mores!”


	13. Sorry I'm late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I need to apologize for the next 400 years over the fact I went MIA the last couple of months. Ultimately school, health, general life, and the inability to shake a nasty writer's block meant no updates this summer- but I am back and I finished this damn chapter! (which I have been working on for the last 3 months!)  
> So I hope you enjoy, and I promise that it won't be another 3 months before the next chapter gets updated! Also let me know what you think, hopefully I haven't lost my touch in all my time away!

She threw the clothes she had been deciding between down on her bed. She could go easy and comfortable with leggings and a tee shirt or she could choose the less comfortable option of jeans and a top. She felt ridiculous, he’d seen her wearing an unflattering baseball uniform with a sweat mustache, surely the difference between jeans and leggings wouldn’t make any difference to him.

 

The doorbell rang to her suite and her stomach rumbled at the thought of the Chinese food feast that she had ordered to be delivered. She made sure her robe was pulled tight and grabbed the cash on the counter to give the delivery guy a tip. She swung the door open to reveal Mike, not the delivery guy she had been expecting. 

 

“Sorry I’m late, I- wait, what’re you wearing?” She knew the silk robe was short, but was never more aware of its lack of length than when he appreciatively glanced at her exposed legs. She could tell her plan for this evening would be getting away from them quickly. 

 

“I am wearing a robe. You know the thing you wear when you’re getting ready? Which I am in the process of doing because you are early.” She moved out of the doorway, allowing him room to come in and so she could close the door behind him. 

 

“You definitely told me eight. Hence the apology for being late.” He quickly took the opportunity to crowd her against the door, one hand playing with the hem of her robe as he leaned in for a kiss. 

 

“Seriously, hence? Are you trying to prove you’re an old man now? And we definitely said nine!”

 

He removed his hand from her upper thigh and reached for his phone to show her the text message she had sent earlier in the day. Sure enough the text message said eight even though they had definitely agreed on nine at practice. She must have accidentally hit the wrong key. She tried not to get stuck on the fact that he had shortened her contact info to just Gin as she handed the phone back to him.

 

With the phone back in his pocket, his hand came back to the edge of her robe. “You know, I wouldn’t be offended if you stayed in this for the evening.”

 

“We both know that if I stayed in this robe, it wouldn’t stay on for long.” He flashed her a charming smile before leaning in again for a kiss, this one longer and deeper, proving her point. 

 

“I don’t see the problem with that.” She gave him a look of annoyance as he pulled back from her.

 

“Mike…what are we doing?” She stopped his hand from going any further up her leg. 

 

“Well right now, I’m attempting to find out if there’s anything underneath this robe.” He said as he wiggled the fingers she was attempting to hold still against her thigh. 

 

“Don’t be a smartass. Are we just hooking up, is this just some kind of, I don’t know, glorified booty call?” He stopped and just stared at her for a moment which led her to ramble. “Which is fine, I just want to manage my expectations of what this is.”

 

“Gin…no. Is that what you think?” He took a step back and her body immediately missed his warmth.

 

“It just seems…oh my god I hate being this person! But, it seems like every time we see each it’s only about sex and I don’t know- what are we doing?” She crossed her arms, feeling ridiculous, self-doubting and self-conscious. She was also having a hard time taking her eyes off the ground to meet his gaze.

 

“Hey, Gin.” When she didn’t respond, he gently tipped her chin up with his hand so she could meet his eyes. “Ginny, look at me. That is not what is happening, okay? Not to freak you out or anything but I’m all in. I want to make you watch Burns and learn more about baseball history. I want to get Mexican food with you and listen to your thirty-minute diatribe about how cilantro is the worst thing on the planet. And I want to keep having sex with you because in the last couple of weeks I’ve realized that when you say my name in bed, it is the best sound I have ever heard.”

 

And god, if she didn’t want to jump his bones after that speech she would be lying, which was part of why she practically threw herself at him to pull him in for a kiss.

 

When there was a knock on the door, she hesitantly pulled away from him to once again tighten her robe and grab the cash from the counter. 

 

“I got a ton of food. Want to eat Chinese while you teach me some baseball history?” 

 

He just chuckled in response.


	14. Can I have this dance?

“Ginny Baker. What am I looking at right now?!” The screech that came from her friend was much too loud to handle in her current hungover state.

 

 

“You’re looking at a hungover person eating bacon. Bring down the decibel of your screeching please.”

 

 

She’s too busy enjoying the piece of bacon she’d been eating along with the hotel’s view of the ocean to pay close attention to Evelyn. Her sarcastic response however is apparently not appreciated by her friend and a phone screen comes extremely close to hitting her in the face.

 

 

She grabbed the phone out of her friend’s hand to investigate the picture that was currently pulled up on Instagram with the hashtag from last night. It’s a picture where Evelyn and Blip are on the dance floor, her head thrown back laughing at something Blip must have said. It’s a cute picture, but she’s not really sure what her friend’s shocked tone is about.

 

 

“I’m confused? That’s a cute picture of you two!” She attempts to be peppy but the dull throbbing in her head is making it a little difficult. It doesn’t help that Ev’s giving her an intimidating glare when she looks up from the phone. She’s momentarily distracted as she contemplates why her friend had never become a police detective.

 

 

“Focus your attention on the right corner. Then I want you to spill.”

 

 

Ginny looked back at the phone, this time ignoring the main focus of the picture to look in the corner like Evelyn had instructed. Sure enough, in the corner of the picture, her fuchsia colored dress is clearly visible with her back to the person who had taken the picture.

 

 

She realizes quickly that her hangover is handicapping her in this situation for two reason. First, if she’d been clear headed she would’ve picked up on Evelyn’s tone at the beginning of their conversation. Second, she’d have noticed what Evelyn was shrieking over the first time she looked at the picture.

 

 

Because while in the picture she may be faced away from the camera, her fuchsia dress had been distinctive, with a cut out that featured a lot of her lower back and a bow that was tied in the middle of her exposed back. She had chosen the dress because the color made her skin glow and because it perfectly straddled the line between sexy and classy. Well it had perfectly straddled that line before the picture had caught her captain holding her tight, his hand flat against her lower back, half of his hand slipping under the fabric of her dress.

 

 

She felt her cheeks go red as she put the phone down on the table and looked up to reluctantly meet Evelyn’s eyes.

 

* * *

 

 

_She felt his presence behind her before he even spoke a word. She caught the view of another champagne flute in his hand. “I bring more champagne.”_

 

 

_She turned her head to give him a flirty smile, already tipsy off the bubbly drink. “I like champagne.”_

 

 

_Her attention returned to the dance floor as a new song started. Blip and Evelyn were slowly swaying, dancing but paying more attention to the conversation they were having in the middle of the dance floor._

 

 

_“Do you ever get jealous of everyone else?”_

 

 

_As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt guilty. It was after all her decision, her rule to keep them a secret. The choice she made and he had willingly followed her every step of the way. And here she was, at her best friends’ vow renewal and she was pouting over something she had full control over._

 

 

_“Gin, you know…” She cuts him off before he can get any further._

 

 

_“I know, I’m sorry I didn’t mean it that way.” She turns to him, wishing she could change their situation, but she knows there’s nothing to be done right now. There would be plenty of weddings to dance at in the future. She just wished she could dance at this one. The song changed, this time to an old rat pack song, the kind of music her parents used to dance to back when things had been good between them. “_

 

 

_Can I have this dance?” He whispered in her ear, almost as though he’d been listening to her thoughts only a minute ago._

 

 

_“_ _Mike…”_

 

 

_“_ _I know but hear me out. No one can take their eyes off the happy couple. Plus the people here, they’re Blip and Ev’s family and our teammates and closest friends. It’s not strangers or anyone who’d sell a picture to the tabloids. I’m sure we can sneak one dance in together.”_

 

 

_His eyes were pleading with her to say yes and dammit she wanted to dance at her best friends’ reception. She slid her hand into his before asking him to lead the way to the corner of the dance floor._

 

* * *

 

 

“Ev, listen can we not do this now?” She loved her friend, but she was also not in the mood to discuss every detail of her sex life, surrounded by her teammates. Her friend studied her a moment before letting out a deep sigh.

 

 

“Fine hold out on me. But I need to know, how long? Was last night the first time?” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Ginny couldn’t help but let out a bark of laughter.

 

 

“No. It’s been a little bit, long enough that I’m getting restless over all the secrecy you know?” She did a quick scan of the room, stopping when she saw Mike sitting at a table with Sal, his wife, and Blip, huge plates of food in front of each of them.

 

 

“Oh honey, does anyone else know?” She snapped back to look at Evelyn, noting how she was giving her a look full of pity.

 

 

“Well, obviously Mike. And now you.” She gave her a smile and a shrug of her shoulder.

 

 

“Honey, you need girl talk! God it’s the best part of a new relationship! And I want ALL the details! So once I am back from my second honeymoon I am making strong drinks and you are telling me everything! Deal?”

 

 

Ginny chuckled at her reasoning, knowing that if she was going to supply the info Evelyn wanted she would need at least a couple drinks.

 

 

“Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing quite like not being able to write for over 3 months and then writing 2 chapters in 48 hours! As always, let me know what you think! I'm like Tinkerbell, I live off of praise!


	15. I made your favorite.

“Gin Gin!” The toddler’s squeal greeted Ginny as she got to the front screen door of the Sanders’ residence. The little girl lifted her arms up so she could be picked up once Ginny was inside and she happily obliged.

 

 

“Hi, Addy!” She held her hand up for a high five, and her goddaughter slapped her hand just like she had taught her, making her proud with the small gesture.

 

 

“Where’s Mommy?” The toddler simply answered by pointing down the hallway, presumably towards the kitchen.

 

 

She continued towards the back of the house to the kitchen. Addy grabbed at her necklace, pushing the charms around as Ginny gave herself a little pep talk. _You can do this. You can get through a simple brunch. Hell, you managed to keep an entire relationship from her for a year. You’ve got this._

Except while her ability to self-motivate may have steeled her resolve, it was quickly undone once she crossed into the next room. The strong scent of hazelnut coffee engulfed her as she entered the kitchen causing her stomach to churn immediately, her free hand coming up to try and hide her grimace.

 

 

“I made your favorite, caramel French toast casserole…Ginny are you okay?” With her hand still in a fist at her lips, she just nodded. She took a couple of deep breaths, hoping to quell the nausea.

 

 

Evelyn narrowed her eyes and looked her up and down. “There’s something up with you. Just tell me, maybe I can help. Unless you’re sick. If you’re sick, hand me the toddler and go home.”

 

 

She easily cracked under the slightest pressure, needing to talk through her thoughts from the past few days. “I’m like 98 percent sure I’m pregnant.”

 

 

“Ohmygod! Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me you guys were trying?” Addison wiggled around in her arms so Ginny put her down on the ground, the little girl running over to bother the dog.

 

 

“Well we weren’t exactly trying yet, but we weren’t not trying you know? But it’s also not a definite yet so I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

 

 

“Well did you take a pregnancy test yet?”

 

 

“Yeah, but it was kind of faint and I haven’t scheduled a doctor’s appointment yet.”

 

 

“Ginny Baker, you realize you’re a professional baseball player right?” With no segue, she was confused by what baseball had to do with the conversation. “My point is, you make plenty of money. In the future, just buy the damn expensive brand name tests! When were you supposed to get your period?”

 

 

“It’s been all over the place since I stopped taking the pill.” Her friend gave her the patented stare down, sensing that Ginny knew more than she was letting on. “Fine, probably like ten days ago.”

 

 

“And I’m assuming you two were having plenty of sex while you were ovulating?” Evelyn took a sip of her coffee, reminding Ginny of countless other mornings when her friend pestered her about her sex life.

 

 

“Oh my god, this is possibly worse than having the sex talk with my mother. I told you we weren’t really planning this yet. I don’t even know when I would’ve been ovulating.”

 

 

“Well I’m going to assume from your past girls night stories, you definitely were.” Now it was her turn to give her friend a disapproving face.

 

 

“Any food sensitivities?” Ginny actively tried not to focus on the hazelnut scent in the room.

 

 

“Well your coffee is making me want to gag right now.”

 

 

“Aww sweetie! You’re gonna have a baby!” She launched herself at Ginny, wrapping her in a tight hug that completely overwhelmed her causing tears to come to her eyes. When she sniffled, Evelyn pulled back. “No, don’t cry. What’s wrong?”

 

 

“What if I’m not any good at being a mom? What if I’m selfish and focus too much on baseball? What if I don’t know if it’s her tired cry or her hungry cry?” The panic she had been trying to ignore for the past couple of days bubbled to the surface.

 

 

“Hey, listen to me.” She grabbed her shoulders, stroking gently with her thumbs to calm Ginny down. “You will know. You’re gonna want to learn it all ahead of time, but you won’t really know how to do anything until they hand you that little squishy baby and then you will figure it out. And if you need help, luckily I’ve already had three, two at the same time. I’m a pro, okay?”

 

 

She took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Okay. But can we go outside, the coffee smell is killing me.”

 

 

“Of course. Addy!” The little girl came running in from the play room. Evelyn picked her up while Ginny grabbed the plates of breakfast casserole and a couple of forks. “Come on little girl, we’re gonna go outside.”

 

 

“I’m guessing you haven’t talked to Mike yet?” Ginny put down the plates on the table as Evelyn put Addison down in her playpen.

 

 

“No. I almost broke down last night though. But I don’t want to tell him over the phone. I want to see his reaction.” She smiled at the thought of how the scene would play out. If anything, the thought of him being an amazing father had kept her from fully panicking the last few days.

 

 

“How did you tell Blip?” She laughed at her question.

 

 

“With the twins, I literally threw up on him! I got hit by a wave of nausea and could not keep it in! So, memorable but not exactly in the best way. And then with this one, I told him at the test run of the restaurant, when I stole him into the kitchen. Are you planning on doing anything or are you just gonna tell him?”

 

 

“I ordered one of the little Lawson jerseys with his number on it. It came in the mail yesterday so I’m gonna give it to him once he’s back tomorrow, which feels like forever.” She finally took a bite of the casserole in front of her. “Oh my god Ev, this is amazing.”

 

 

“Aww, that is the cutest idea! Much better than either of mine. Now, if you want to share any details about the amazing sex that led to this, I’m all ears.”

 

 

“Ev!” She didn’t know why she was shocked anymore considering it was her friend’s favorite topic to bring up. She simply shook her head before taking another bite of her food.

 

 

“Fine, but I had to try!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So another chapter with Ginny and Evelyn. Sorry about that? But not really because I love those 2. But I literally wrote this prompt 4 different ways and this was the only one that I actually liked. Also finding it really hard to balance school, writing, and well life, hence the long breaks between chapters- I am 100% sorry about that but know that I'm constantly thinking about Pitch, so I have no plans of abandoning this fic.  
> So let me know what you think! Please & thank you!


	16. It's okay, I couldn't sleep anyway

She looked over at her phone, the bright screen lighting up the dark room to notify her of the incoming call. She checked the alarm clock next to the phone on the night stand, quickly calculating that at this point she had less than five hours until her alarm would go off in the morning. She didn’t have to look at the screen to know that it was Mike who would be calling this late. She seriously considered just ignoring the call, but right before it sent the call to voicemail she swiped at the screen. 

 

“Were you asleep? I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…”

 

“No, it’s okay, I couldn’t sleep anyway.” She chose to leave out that his absence was the cause. 

 

She heard a light tap echo off the metal door to her room before she heard his voice in her ear, “Can I come in?”

 

The logical and emotional parts of her battled in her head. She sat up in bed, realizing that no matter how long she stared at the ceiling she wasn’t going to fall asleep any time soon. If anything, hopefully talking through everything would put a stop to her overanalyzing. 

 

“Can you agree to not scream any more?” She was already moving out of the bed and towards the door. 

 

“Gin, I’m sorry about how I acted earlier, I just… I’m sorry, that’s why I want to come in and talk. Please?”

 

She opened the door halfway to find him leaning against the door frame, the phone still to his ear. He looked like hell and her immediate, petty thought was good, he deserves it. His look of dread however turned hopeful as she ushered him into her dark room. She closed the door behind him and winced once she turned the overhead light on. He just stood in the room, between the bed and the stand with the tv on it. 

 

“I don’t know what happened. I just lost it.”

 

“You don’t say.” He raised his brow at her retort.

 

“I may have reacted poorly but…”

 

“Mike, I’m tired. I don’t want to go through this whole argument again.” She honestly didn’t think she could make it through the argument again.

 

"Neither do I.” 

 

“Then what do you want to say because if it’s not an apology and only going to make me feel shittier I really don’t want to hear it now.” She crossed her arms and waited for his apology.

 

He scratched at his beard, thinking through his words, the stress on his face showing how the day had worn him down just as it had done to her.

“I’m sorry for everything I said earlier. I was hurt and I lashed out. You didn’t deserve it and I didn’t mean what I said. At all.” 

 

“You wouldn’t have said it if you hadn’t thought it.” It had been the thought that had stayed with her all evening, most likely the cause for her insomnia as well. 

 

“Ginny, you have to believe me, I wasn’t thinking clearly. If I’d taken the time to think about it instead of going all caveman I would never had said any of it.”

 

“Then you have to believe me, this is a completely different situation.” Her aggravation creeped into her voice, realizing they were quickly going down the slippery slope into the same argument as earlier. 

 

“How is it not the same? Because I’m having a hard time seeing it.” 

 

“Oh my god. I can’t have this fight again.” She turned and walked towards the door, her inability to stay still leading her to pace in the small entry way to the room.

 

"Ginny, I think you’re it for me. And the fact we got together and you said screw the consequences made me sure it was the same for you. But now I’m just worried that this is just what you’ve done in the past. And I trust you, you know I do…it’s just making me question if I’d been wrong.”

 

She knew he didn’t mean to hurt her with his doubt but it didn’t stop her from feeling like she’d been punched in the gut.  
“The only reason I ever agreed to go out with him, the only reason it ever happened was because he told me he was leaving baseball…he lied to me and never thought of the consequences I had to face. You have only ever cared about what I had to face and I broke my rule for you because you’re probably it for me too and I didn’t want to miss out on anything. So don’t ever think of comparing this to that or you to him because it is not even close to the same thing.”

 

“Okay.” 

 

She took a step back, she’d been prepared to go another round with him at this point. “What?”

 

“I said okay, because you’re right. And I should believe you and not that asshole. And I’m sorry about everything I said and questioning you, and just being an asshole. Just forgive me?”

 

She crossed the room to wrap her arms around him, just wanting to hold on to him for a moment. “Can we agree to not do this again? Because today sucked.”

 

He leaned down to kiss her before responding, “I’ll agree to that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time, no see guys! I would not recommend the combination of pharmacy school and writer's block because it will lead to some serious delays in stories! But with baseball back, my inspiration is back (especially since as a Mets fan they keep playing a Jeep commercial that features the song Unstoppable- which just ignites my hatred for Fox, but that's neither here nor there...). So enjoy, let me know any opinions you have (especially if they're good!) and I will try my hardest to be back with another chapter soon!


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